Transformational Learning

Every day’s a learning day…..if you create the right conditions.

We all have different learning styles but there are some conditions which can bring about transformative learning and others which can inhibit learning:

David Mezirow (1991) listed the following conditions or situations which give rise to critical self-reflection and transformational learning:

• A disorienting dilemma
• A state of puzzlement
•  Recognising that others share our feelings
• The presence of an empathetic provocateur

Peter Jarvis (1995) identified the state of ‘non-learning’ which occurs when experience conforms to our mental models or to our everyday experience. Non-learning can also occur when we are too busy to reflect on an experience or because we do not change our mind-sets.

Joseph E LeDoux, neuroscientist, discovered that “we remember life’s important moments especially well. Emotional experiences, whether good or bad, leave strong traces in the brain.”

I am very familiar with these theories and refer to them regularly in my work as a coach but knowing them at an intellectual level is not the same as living them.  Recently the full impact of these theories smacked me in the face, along with the airbag, when I crashed into the back of another car in a minor road traffic accident. On reflection, I had had a vague sense that I had fallen into some careless habits as a driver, clocking up thousands of miles every year and always in a hurry to get to my destination. However, I had not taken time to reflect on this important realisation and bring it fully into my conscious awareness. I had slipped into a state of unconscious incompetence, terminal vagueness and non-learning about my driving. I didn’t critically reflect on what my carelessness could mean to me or to others, although somewhere in the back of my mind, of course, I knew what it could mean.

An empathetic provocateur even arrived in the guise of a police officer who offered equal amounts of support and challenge. He was kind and sympathetic but wanted me to realise the consequences of my actions – and pointed out with ruthless compassion how much worse the outcome could have been.

The disorienting dilemma, the high emotion and the shock of the accident created transformational learning and behaviour change in me instantaneously.

How to make every day a learning day (without the 'car crash moment'!)

It is often said that we don’t experience transformational learning or change unless we have enough pain in our current situation or the promise of enough pleasure in a different, future situation. We need to be aware of the dangers of non-learning, where our everyday experience conforms to our expectations.

Think about the transformational learning experiences in your own life and make a list of them. What things did you learn and how did you learn them?

How many of these transformational learning experiences included any of the above elements- high emotion, disorienting dilemma, state of puzzlement, recognizing that others feel the same way, an empathetic provocateur? 

Ask yourself how often and in which situations you find yourself in a state of non-learning? Make a note of your non-learning experiences and the factors which contribute to your non-learning.

Every day can be a learning day if we can get out of the state of non-learning. This means:

• Find people in your life who can be empathetic provocateurs – people who will challenge, support, provoke, question, praise and appreciate you
• Actively seeking feedback from people whose opinions you trust and respect
• Take time to stop and ask yourself “Where are my current behaviours taking me? Where will I be if I continue in the same way?” Associating everyday behaviours with possible long-term outcomes is key to bringing about transformational learning
• Keep a journal of your thoughts, feelings, behaviours
• Acknowledge your assumptions and biases and learn to question them. Ask yourself “What am I assuming about this, which is stopping me from changing?”
• Develop an attitude of curiosity and open-minded wonder
• Listen more and for longer
• Ask more questions
• Make time to reflect on your experiences and evaluate what went well and what didn’t go well
• Put yourself in new situations and experience the discomfort of change and of not-knowing

“You should always be a beginner at something” Marianne Williamson